xorg, nvidia, log-in all hosed - how can I completely reset graphics set-up/settings?

Posted by Fred Hamilton on Ask Ubuntu See other posts from Ask Ubuntu or by Fred Hamilton
Published on 2012-09-16T07:07:03Z Indexed on 2012/09/16 9:49 UTC
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I just did a fresh install of Mythbuntu 12.04.1 on my Intel MB with nVidia 9500GT graphics card. Hardware's been working great with 10.10 for about 2 years.

Background: (optional - feel free to skip to question) I was trying to get my component video output to generate 720p, messing around with the nvidia drivers, and now the entire display system is hosed. I can SSH in and get a terminal. Depending on which nvidia package I install/remove, I get:

  • Garbage on screen (after I "apt-get remove nvidia*")
  • A low-res graphical log-in screen where I can log in as fred or guest. If I log in as fred, it displays some text mode status line then goes right back to the log-in screen. If I log in as guest, I actually get the full Ubuntu desktop, but I need to be able to log in as fred.
  • Other times I get an error: "API mismatch: the NVIDIA kernel module has version 304.43, but this NVIDIA driver component has version 295.49."

I've googled around, including trying this thread with the same error message, but to no effect.

Question: How can I just reset x settings, drivers, everything display-related to the exact same way it was after a fresh install?

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